İmamoğlu in second day of defense: Kılıçdaroğlu should be heard as witness

In the İBB case being heard at Istanbul's 33rd Heavy Penal Court, Ekrem İmamoğlu entered the second day of his defense in the courtroom opposite the Silivri Marmara Prison. In the case involving 436 defendants, of whom 53 are in custody and 7 are at large, İmamoğlu requested that the court hear former CHP General Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as a witness. Hürriyet reported.

The hearing was attended by YENİ Party General Chairman Özgür Özel, several YENİ Party deputies, and İmamoğlu's wife Dilek, son Selim, mother Havva, and father Hasan İmamoğlu. İmamoğlu began his defense by offering condolences to those who lost their lives in the Istanbul flood disaster.

Özel, in a statement to the press before the hearing, compared the indictment with allegations previously reported to the public: the KİPTAŞ delegate office, 1,200 mobile phones, and allegations about money beneath IBB floors do not appear in the indictment. Özel stated that regarding the jammer allegation, the indictment confirmed the provincial chairman's conduct.

The İBB case was opened following İmamoğlu's arrest in March 2025; the courtroom in Silivri has since become the de facto center of Istanbul politics. Compared to the previous session, the defense in this hearing proceeded document-focused; the process of purchasing the CHP provincial building was addressed in detail.